Draft-bracket for mowers or the like.



No. 635,638. Patented Oct. 29, I901.

J. W. PRIDMURE.

DRAFT BRACKET FOB MUWERS OR THE LIKE.

(Application filed July 23, 1801.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet vl.

No. 685,638. Patented Oct. 29, mm. J. w. PRIDMURE.

DRAFT BRACKET FOR MOWERS OR THE LIKE.

. (Application filed July 23, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets$heet 2.

VIQZ'heJJes' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. PBIDMORE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MCCORMICK HARVESTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DRAFT-BRACKET FOR MOWERS OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 685,638, dated 061301061 29, 1901.

Application filed J'uly 23,1901- Serial No. 69,357. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN W. PRIDMORE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Brackets for Mowers or the Like; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable oth ers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to that part of the machine where the connection is made between the whiffietree or evener and the draft-rod that extends down to the cutting apparatus; and it consists in the particular construction hereinafter described and claimed of draftbracket that is pivoted to the tongue and is interposed between the evener and the front end of the rod.

The improvement is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein--- Figure 1 is a plan view of a mower of wellknown type and construction. Fig. 2 is a detail view showing part of the tongue and draft rod in elevationwith the bracket attached and the evener in section. Fig. 3 is an underneath view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, the evener being shown in dotted li nes.- Fig. 4 is a central vertical section of the draftbracket detached, and Fig.5 is a perspective view of the bracket looking from the front corner.

Referring first to Fig. 1, A denotes the tongue, B the frame, C C the wheels, and G the cutting apparatus of the machine. No description of any of these parts is deemed necessary, as machines of the construction shown have long been known and used. Moreover, the present invention is not limited to any particular construction of these parts. The whifiiletree or evener is denoted by F, and E indicates the draft-rod. This rod, as will be seen in Fig. 1, extends to and connects with the yoke D, to which the inner shoe of the cutting apparatus is secured. It is not new to connect the evener to this yoke by means of a draft-rod, and the purpose and effect of such connection are well understood. The invention herein pertains solely to the means for making connection between the front end of the rod and the evener; and the object in view is to enable the team to draw on the cutting apparatus with an elastio or mediacy of a pivoted draft-bracket consisting of a body portion a of about the width of the tongue and recessed, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Extending upward from this body portion are two arms I) b, by means of which the bracket is pivoted to the tongue by a through-bolt t. Depending from the under side of the body of the bracket, and prefer.- ably from the corner nearest the standing; grass, is an arm 0, having an eye in its lower end into which the front end of the draft-rod E is hooked. The evener is bolted between the arms of a stirrup d, whose rear closed end is of an appropriate size and shape to fit snugly in the recessed part of the bracket, provision being preferably made for adj usting the lateral position of the stirrup with respect to the bracket, as will be presently described. Extending rearward from the closed end of the stirrup is a headed bolt '6, which projects through the rear wall of the recess and has a coiled spring 8 encircling it and reacting between the head h and the rear side of the bracket. As will be seen from Figs. 3 and 5, the recess of the bracket is much wider than the stirrup, and the rear wall of the recess is provided with a plurality of holes (indicated at a; in dotted lines in Fig. 3) into anyone of which the bolt 6 may be set so as to adjust the lateral position of the stirrupand evener to counteract the side draft of the machine in a wellknown manner. The head of the bolt is herein shown as a nut screwing onto a thread, and it is particularly desirablethat it should be removable, both for the purpose of conveniently making and changing the abovedescribed lateral adjustment of the evener and stirrup andfor the purpose of rigging up and removing and replacing, if desired, the spring on the bolt. It is intended that this spring shall be appropriate to the draft of the machine and of sufficient strength to carry the machine in ordinary work, pulling first on the cutting apparatus, as heretofore explained and as now well understood in this class of machine. At the same time it is desirable in unusual cutting or when the cutting apparatus falls into any considerable depression that the draft shall be rigid, so as the more promptly and certainly to lift the inner shoe and prevent the guards from digging into the ground. In order to efiect this result, I provide a rod 2', running through the stirrup and fixed into the side walls of the recess in the body of the bracket, as best shown in Figs. t and 5. This rod determines the extent to which the stirrup can be drawn out and of course limits the amount of compression of the spring, inasmuch as it forms a dead-stop against which the team pulls when the resistance of the draft becomes so great that the spring is not strong enough to draw the machine. This is an important feature of the invent-ion, as it not only provides a direct rigid draft atthe time when it is needed, but prevents any sudden and injurious compression of the spring. As best shown in Fig. 2, the arms Z1 and c of the bracket extend for wardly of the body portion. The object of this arrangement is to bring the evener more nearly into the vertical plane of the brackets pivot, which position is most advantageous and where also the evener would naturally come if it were connected directly to the bracket instead of by means of the spring and bolt.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim, and desire to secure, is-- 1. In a mower or like machine, the combination with a tongue, of a draft-bracket pivoted at its upper end to the tongue, a draftrod connected to the lower end of the bracket, an evener connected to the bracket at an intermediate point between its ends, and a spring reacting between the evener and bracket.

2. In a mower or like machine, the combination with the tongue and draft-rod, of a pivoted draft-bracket having upwardly-extending arms on either side of the tongue, a downwardly extending arm to which the draft-rod is connected, an evener connected to the bracket intermediate the arms, and a spring reacting between the evener and the bracket.

3. In a mower or like machine, the combination with the tongue, of a bracket pivoted at its upper end to the tongue, a" draft-rod connected to the lower end of the bracket, an evener, a stirrup extending rearward from the evener, a headed bolt projecting from the stirrup through the bracket, and a spring reacting between the head of the bolt and the rear side of the bracket. I

4. In a mower or like machine, the combination with the tongue and draft-rod, of a3 pivoted draft-bracket having upwardly-ex tending arms on either side of the tongue, a recessed body portion, and a downwardly-extending arm to which the draft-rod is con-' nected, an evener, a stirrup extending rea'r ward from the evener and sliding in the re= cess in the bracket, a headed bolt projecting from the stirrup through the back of the recess, and a spring reacting between the head of the bolt and the bracket.

5. In a mower or like machine, the combination with the tongue and draft-rod, of a draft-bracket pivoted at its upper end to the tongue and connected at its lower end to the draft-rod, an evener, a connection between the evener and the bracket, and means for adjusting the connection laterally of the bracket.

6. In combination with the tongue and draft-rod of a mower or like machine, a draftbracket having a recessed body portion a, upwardly and forwardly extending arms I), b, by means of which it is pivoted to the tongue, the downwardly-extending arm 0 to which the draft-rod is connected, an evener, a stirrup d secured to the evener and having its closed end sliding in the recess of the bracket, the headed bolt e projecting rearward from the stirrup out through the rear wall of the recess, and the spring .9 coiled around the bolt and reacting between its head and the rear side of the bracket.

7. In a mower or like machine, the combi nation with the tongue and draft-rod, of a draft-bracket pivoted to the tongue and connected to the draft-rod, an evener connected to the bracket, a spring reacting between the evener and bracket, and a dead-stop against which the team pulls when the draft of the machine exceeds the capacity of the spring.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN WV. PRIDMORE.

Witnesses:

BERT BOWMAN, CHAS. W. ALLEN. 

